Hi all. I´ve picked up some good travel tips on here pre-Covid and we´re hopefully going to make our first overseas trip after the pandemia this summer, to Disneyland Paris for our daughter´s ninth birthday. Any advice or recommendations from anyone who has done it would be great. Thinking three days should be enough (it´s not cheap!) and also looking into whether it´s best to do a package trip though an agency or book the park, hotels and flights separately. Any feedback on this would be really useful plus anything about specific hotels, restaurants, connections in or out of Paris as we´re hoping to spend one day and night there at the start or end as well. Many thanks in advance!
0
Comments
The European Package Travel Regulations offer you protection that won't exist if you do your own thing...
If you are travelling from the UK, https://www.magicbreaks.co.uk/disneyland-paris/ are the leading Disneyland Paris tour operator...even if you don't use them their site should give you some insight...
We absolutely loved it there, some of the quests were long but you can get free fast track tickets on site but there are limits (I think you can only book 1 at a time and have to finish your ride time before you book another)
One piece of advice, don’t go on the Star Wars simulator just after making the most of the food and unlimited booze in the Wild West show. The second it started I realised I’d made a mistake. Honestly thought I was going to chuck up on the ride but just managed to hold it together until it finished, although was sick as soon as I got out the door.
The New York Art of Marvel hotel has been refurbished - very nice hotel, and a stones throw from Disney village.
If you want to do it on a budget, one year we bought tickets via a site called picniq and stayed in a hotel about 40 mins away. Car park was about 20 euros.
New York is nice and has a pool. Newport Bay is a bit cheaper and has a pool which was pretty cold. Santa Fe cheaper and no pool and breakfast is crap. Not that I know but I imagine similar to breakfast in a prison.
Stay at the Hotel L' Elysee Europe which is five minutes walk from the metro.
If you fly into CDG go down to the railway station under it and you can then catch a TGV to MLV and be there in 10 minutes.
MLV will also get you into Paris via the RER metro in around 40 minutes.
The hotel is clean, family oriented and very reasonable priced with a good buffet breakfast. You can also buy your Disney passes at the reception and there's no price increase.
It also has the advantage of having a free shuttle bus opposite for guests to Disney all day and even up to after midnight when coming back.
Its opposite the main shopping centre called Val D'Europe and we used it to get our lunch sorted at Paul's bakery each day which will save a fortune on food.
Hope you and your family enjoy it, my daughter is 23 and she still loves the place!
Sorry mate, couldn't resist 😉
I would recommend you look at Fastpass options and plan your daily visits using those.
If your daughter likes character greetings, it is worth getting a schedule in each park on who is showing up where. From Disney Princesses to Chewie and Vader, they have a full spectrum of characters who are not always out and about, sometimes in specific indoor locations, so as I say, planning again is key to save any disappointment.
In Disney Studios, Ratatouie is a clever ride and you can beat the queues by opting to join a queue where they fill gaps so you probably won't sit together but generally will get a pod at the same time. This can cut the wait time from over an hour to 5 mins. At least it did when we were there.
Also, go to TK Maxx or something and buy any of the character outfits you might need, rather than paying loads more in the park.
Anyone on here bought these and are they worth it?
If you can cope with the weather not being great and with one (or maybe two) big rides being out of commission due to being serviced, then you’ll have a great time.
All the rest of the rides will be working, there are minimal crowds and wait times are tiny.
I took a school group in January a couple of times a few years back. Once they’d done all the official “School trip” stuff, they had free run of the park. Most of them tried pretty much every ride, and when they found a favourite, they did that one multiple times.
The car shows, the parades, medieval dinners and the rest were all on as normal.
It was a blast.
You know what you get. Magic for the small ones. Money making where adults are, and a lot of queueing. I've got some amazing memories with my children, but I fear we're all beyond Disney now.